Albatross!

Last year I was itching to go and see the amazing Black-Browed Albatross that decided to spend the summer amongst the throngs of seabirds of Bempton Cliffs in east Yorkshire. But for one reason or another, I couldn't get there - mainly because it's a bloody long way away!

To see that the bird had returned this spring, wetted my appetite once more to see this spectacular ocean wanderer - and this year I was determined to see it!

So with the added bonus of an extra Bank Holiday for the Queen's Jubilee, I decided it was time to go for it before it was too late. I couldn't persuade Gareth to join me so went solo for the day, leaving home at 05:30am (a pretty normal time to be up with my little son to be honest!).

The drive went well and managed to park up on site a couple of minutes before 9...quickly finding out I'd just missed 2 Bee-eaters heading over the car park!

I got my stuff together and set off down towards the Staple Newk viewpoint, enjoying Tree Sparrows, Corn Buntings and my first view of the incredible seabird spectacle.

The viewpoint was already pretty busy but I did still manage to gain a good spot to enjoy the toing and froing of the Gannets below me, as well as a few on the ledges nearby.  

Fulmars & Kittiwakes were also in abundance, cruising by at close range.

An hour and a half went by and while the Albatross had not yet showed (last seen early on heading out to sea), I felt pretty relaxed, with plenty to enjoy and distract me. Then the shout went up, "ALBATROSS!" and after a brief, panicked scan, there it was, gliding on stiff wings, circling the rocky Gannet-laden outcrop below. It repeated this several times, before disappearing around the corner to land on the cliffs. Oh my word, I had actually seen Black-Browed Albatross in the UK - get in!

The bird went on to perform really consistently every 5-10 minutes for the next hour or so, often with several attempts needed to get up onto the cliffs! Towards the end of the hour I kept saying to myself 'ok one more fly about, then I'll leave it'. But just couldn't drag myself away! On a couple of occasions it gained a bit more height and came pretty close, giving everyone the opportunity to appreciate it's shear size. You could probably count on one hand, the number of times it actually flapped it's wings - such an impressive bird and very much the master of the oceans!

Eventually I dragged myself away from the Albatross and went for a walk along the cliffs further south. After having a Bonxie pointed out to me out on the sea, I spent some time enjoying some confiding Razorbills, as well as the only Puffin I actually saw settled!

As time was ticking, I headed back to the car, enjoying more Tree Sparrows close to the visitor centre. Annoyingly news then broke of a continental Swallowtail showing well at the southern end of the reserve having flown in off the sea. Would love to have seen it, however it was a long walk back that way and I was also keen to get over to see my other target for the day...Honey Buzzards!

I took the 40 minute or so drive over to the Wykeham Forest raptor viewpoint, inland and west of Scarborough. The sun was still very much out, but with a nice breeze which was hopefully of benefit to seeing HBs.

After a short walk, I arrived at the viewpoint to straight away be pointed out a dark morph Honey Buzzard pretty high overhead - wow that was quick and very fortunate! Unluckily for me though, it was one of a pair that cruised really low right over the viewpoint and by all accounts providing astounding views. But hey, I'd seen my long-overdue first UK Honey, plus there was plenty of time for more sightings! Sure enough, a few minutes later I had amazing but tantalisingly brief views of a pale morph male over the trees behind us. It soon though disappeared out of sight.

In the end, there were just two more sightings up until I left at about 17:30. One of which showed pretty well, performing the butterfly display which was really cool! Other birds seen during the vigil included a couple of Crossbill, 2 Red Kite and lots of Siskins, as well as my first and probably last Green Hairstreak of the year!

It was then time to hit the road on the long journey back south. A fantastic day, with two particularly sought after lifers and a worthy supporting cast too.

Butterflies

As May rumbled on, things slowed up on the birding front, coinciding with the emergence of a few local butterfly species.

Butterflying year on year, is always dependant on good weather. However, the morning of Sunday 22/05 was warm and relatively sunny. So I popped out to see my first Wood Whites of the year at nearby Bucknell Wood, with 10+ seen.

Also enjoyed good numbers of Broad-Bodied Chasers zipping about, plus my first Common Blue of the year and a Crab Spider standing out by the side of the path.

Before heading back home - I took a walk along the public footpath by Croughton Quarry, to check on the progress of my local Grizzled Skipper colony. Pleasingly, there 5 in total in varying states of condition. Also a few more Common Blues and a smart little Brown Argus too.

Patch-tastic!

Lucky me - I had most of both the Bank Holiday Monday (02/05) and also the following day (03/05) for birding.

With conditions looking half-decent, I decided to stay local and really hammer the patch and maybe another couple of sites, to hopefully dig out some decent migrants.

I predictably began at Grimsbury Res, Banbury super early on Monday. Things began well, with a fly-through Common Tern, Yellow Wagtail, 4 Common Sandpiper, a Little Grebe, Mistle Thrush and best of all, a nice Dunlin pottering about.

Best though was yet to come, as I got the briefest of views of a larger wader dropping down at the southern end of the res. I hot-footed it down from the northern end and was super-chuffed to discover a cracking brick-red Bar-Tailed Godwit sat on the concrete ledge of the reservoir, towards the SE corner. I cautiously approached, but the bird was pretty chilled, in fact it looked pretty knackered and it's right foot seemed to be bothering it. It hung around for about an hour and a half, by which time it looked far more perky and was wandering about. Thankfully, fellow patcher Gareth also caught up with it (a patch tick for him), after finally getting hold of him!

The patch was on very good form with 56 species in total. Following the Barwit, Dunlin etc, I also saw a female Redstart found earlier by others, which showed for me for about 3 seconds, a distant female Whinchat, 1+ Swift, c3 Yellow Wags, an increase in Sedge Warbler (c9) and Lesser Whitethroat (c5) and all x3 Hirundine species among other things.

I also popped over to Boddington Res on a quest for Arctic Tern. While there were no Arctics, I did have my first Cuckoo of the year, plus 2 Hobby overhead for a while, a male Wheatear and my first 2 Garden Warbler of the year too.

The next day (Tuesday 03/05), I had another crack at the patch early on and was pleased to chance upon a singing Gropper just across the river, plus 4 Yellow Wags and 4 Meadow Pipit through. Gareth popped up to try and connect with the Gropper and after a bit of a wait, it began a decent spell of song thankfully. We had a bit more of a look about and came across a male Whinchat at distance, plus a Wheatear, 3 Common Sands and a brief LRP, before he had to get back to work. Later, there were 2 Wheatear, plus 3 Swift.

I headed home but later on that afternoon, news broke of 3 Black Terns at Boddington Res and so I headed over and enjoyed some decent views on what a bright, warm evening in the company of birding pal Dylan.

The rest of the week was quiet from a birding point of view, however I did pop into Bicester Wetland after work and caught up the the pair of Shelduck that had been around for much of the week - not a common bird in these parts.

A great week!

This week has produced for me a succession of notable migrants, with Common Sandpiper, Little Gull, Ring Ouzel, Whimbrel, Grasshopper Warbler, Hobby, Whinchat, Swift and Black Tern all added to my 12-mile 2022 list.

My highlight had to be wonderful views of a reeling Grasshopper Warbler at Bicester Wetland keyholder reserve. Every spring, I seem to hear of people enjoying brilliant views of showy migrant Groppers, however my views have always consisted of a head peeking out in between brambles or in fact no view at all! So this was a real teat, as I sat in the grass soaking up the special spectacle.

A very widespread drop of Little Gulls occurred on Saturday 23/04. In the short time I had to pop out, a quick circuit of Grimsbury revealed nothing. Then along the road to Boddington Res, only for Mark Ribbons to report the presence of one there while I was on route - perfect! A lovely adult that I sat and watched for a while, dip feeding away. Hard to beat a spring adult Little Gull!

I thought my chances of catching up with a local Ring Ouzel were slipping away, so I was very grateful for Ian Dodson to get the news out of a smart male lingering in a field on the edge of the small village of West Farndon. I had the morning to myself on Sunday 24/04 and so after a fairly fruitless visit to Grimsbury, I headed over. It didn't take long to find the bird and showed well, marching around in the presence of a couple of Blackbirds. Spot on!

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Bicester Wetland was kind to me this week, across my two shortish visits there. As well as the Gropper, a female Whinchat was found early on in the week and luckily stuck around for me to catch up with it on fenceposts in the meadow. Spring Whinchats are never guaranteed around here so that was goodun. A flyover Hobby and a unexpected singing Lesser Redpoll made for a nice haul.

Popped over to Grimsbury a few times, mostly pretty swift visits. Best bird has to be the all-too-brief Whimbrel that I picked up on call on 26/04. It circled the res before landing along the W shore, only to be flushed by a jogger some 5 seconds later - only my 2nd ever on patch. Other highlights of the week included a late female Brambling feeding along the river (my first non-flyover for the site), plus my first Swift of the year on 28/04. A few more Yellow Wags finally made an appearance with at least 6 on 26/04, while I also finally got my first Common Sand of the year on 23/04.

My birding week was rounded off on Friday 29/04. A cracking Black Tern had been found earlier in the day at Foxcote Reservoir, near Buckingham and was still reported as present mid-afternoon. So, I made the diversion from work in Bicester for a quick look on the way home. A quick scan revealed nothing, but on entering the hide, I was pleasantly surprised to see it sat out on a buoy out in front, albeit slightly into the sun. Great views had and did get to see it have a bit of a fly about too. Lovely bird and a decent addition to the year.